Rehearsals for Live Oak Theatre Company / YWAM Tampa Bay’s Production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ are in full swing. We are having a load of fun singing and dancing and laughing our way through the script of this wonderful Musical!

YWAM Tampa Bay will be involved in many areas of the production – back stage and front of house, set building, ensemble.

Kevan & Lisa Richards, and their 4 Children, have been staff with YWAM Tampa Bay since 2011. They joined the Cast of Judah Ben-Hur, playing Esther, Mesala, Tirza, and ensemble. Lisa also designed and built the sets, and made many of the costumes.

Our staff recently returned from a 3 month outreach, performing Judah Ben-Hur the Musical in Florida, Hawaii, The Philippines. A Company of 20+ actors, singers, dancers, technical & support personnel (professionals with a Missionary heart!), traversed the globe to bring the Gospel in the form of a Full Scale Theatrical Production.

The Company performed in 14 churches, schools and community venues, for audiences totaling 3000. Approximately 24 people committed their lives to the Lord. Hundreds more were challenged with the message of Repentance and Forgiveness from the story of Judah Ben-Hur.

The Cast and Crew also had wonderful opportunities to minister in the slums of Cebu, including performances for orphans & street children – many stated that this ministry was the Highlight of their trip.

We are thankful for our Company, who present The Gospel with passion, excellence and humility. Each one is a Professional in their field, taking their vacation time to journey to the Ends of The Earth with us.

This Fall we saw 2 talented staff members added to our YWAM base. Gift Hanphanit a former Thai student who has served as a missionary to China and Aaron Gray, a musician/worship leader from our 2012 DTS. They join Helen Dean, Kevan & Lisa Richards, Sean & Anne Sanborn, David Sanborn and Ellen & Art, as YWAM Tampa staff member. We may be small, but wow we are empowered with talented multi-tasking people.

Sean was recently asked to share at a Christian school during their Chapel time. Many of the students were not Christians, but that day, eighteen students made Jesus Lord of their lives. Ellen and David have been performing their newest musical, “Yeshua, the musical”, at many churches along the East coast but also in Alabama, Idaho and Hawaii. When Aaron is with them, he leads worship before and after the performance. In most of the venues, people are coming forward to make Jesus Lord of their lives or are making recommitments.

We are all gearing up for our two-month tour of Judah Ben-Hur the Musical. We almost have a full cast and our team members are busy with preparations. Lisa is designing costumes, sets and new back projection with the help of Helen, Ray and Sean. Preparations are also being made to celebrate the birth of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ!

Thank you for all your payers and support. May our Lord richly bless you as complete His last command to tell everyone of Jesus (Yeshua).

In 2007, doctors diagnosed me with leukemia. Would that limit our evangelism of the lost? Since then, four of the six churches that have supported us for so many years have had to completely drop their financial support of our ministry. Will that limit our discipleship of the next generation of missionaries?

We are not deterred. We know that, ever since Loren Cunningham commissioned us to revive the YWAM missionary training center and outreach programs in Tampa Bay, God has made it clear that we are in the center of His will. Since establishing YWAM Tampa Bay and sending out our first 6 disciples 4 years ago, we have had the honor of discipling more than 50 future leaders from 6 continents. We have had the privilege of laboring alongside them to see the Holy Spirit lead hundreds of people into His Kingdom.

This year, almost every guest lecturer said that teaching at this year’s DTS was one of the best experiences (or some said simply “the best”) that they have had in teaching at any DTS, among the hundreds of DTS’s at which they have collectively spoken. We feel the same – so blessed to see God moving in such power. A few weeks ago, we returned from a 2-month outreach in Malaysia, Thailand & Myanmar (Burma). We ministered there with 11 of our missionary trainees in churches, prisons, refugee camps, schools & orphanages. We had the overwhelming joy of seeing more than 200 people saved!

The Gospel is advancing with force. The leukemia, however, is not advancing at all. My doctors – who had told me that the cancer would likely take my life in just a few years – are now indicating that, at this rate, I will more likely die from martyrdom than from cancer!

Please pray for one of our Staff – ‘C’. She broke her back yesterday and is in hospital awaiting further tests. She’s in a lot of pain. Pray for God’s comfort and healing to be on her. The MRI showed that C crushed her 12th vertebrae. She will be on bed rest and in a back brace up to 12 weeks. Stand with us in praying for Miraculous Healing for this mighty woman of God!

This week several of the YWAM Tampa staff are teaching Vacation Bible School (VBS) each night at a church in Trilby. I have the privilege of teaching three of the classes. It has been a blessing to see their hunger to know more about Jesus, but sometimes it hurts to see how little some of them know about God. Continue reading →

“Go!”. I vividly remember hearing that word as I was driving home from work late one evening. I brushed the thought aside. I remember thinking it was impossible for me to leave my job as I was due for salary increment and promotion soon. I was at the peak of my career. I was planning to buy my dream car (BMW, 5 series metallic blue), and was saving my money for my vacation to Italy and Venice. Yes, that was my great 2011 year plan.

Little did I know that God’s plan was to move me out of my comfort zone into the unknown. Continue reading →

The 2011 PA DTS consisted of 18 students and 6 staff, and ran from January to June. In April we split into different groups. I led the Frontier Missions group, consisting of 14 adults and 4 children, to Northern Thailand, while our other leaders, Ellen & David led the Judah Ben Hur PA troupe (7 adults) to New York, Los Angeles, and Malaysia, and then rejoining us in the South of Thailand in mid May. We all had an intense and fruitful time. In the end our DTS teams saw around (45+13=) 58 people accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

How do you summarize your DTS experience in one or even two stories? What changed me were the high times, the low times, and all the times in between. The high times were when things were easy and I was able to have fun and enjoy myself; the low times were when I learned the most about myself and I stood with the Lord; all the places in between are where the stories are. Continue reading →

YWAM Tampa Happenings

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The latest news from the Directors. Reports on school outreach. What's happening at Live Oak Theater. Breakthroughs in Thailand. Upcoming schools.
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